(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote control switch destined for adjusting the posture of the mirror surface of a mirror provided at either side of an automobile.
(b) Related Art Statement
Heretofore, there have been proposed various types of remote control switch for automotive motor-driven mirrors, including, for example, one comprising plural fixed contacts disposed on a printed circuit board (will be referred to as "PCB" hereinafter), plural bridge-shaped resilient moving contacts disposed slidably on a PCB to electrically connect certain ones of the fixed contacts to each other, and a push plate having plural acting ends disposed correspondingly to the moving contacts and which press the respective moving contacts in a direction perpendicular to the PCB to resiliently deform them, thereby connecting the certain fixed contacts to each other. This type of switch is a so-called push plate type switch, which is disclosed, for example, in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,464, issued Oct. 6, 1987, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,698,463, issued Oct. 6, 1987.
In the control switches of this type, the bridge-shaped moving contacts are so formed as to slide on the PCB. Each acutating end causing each moving contact to slide by resiliently deforming the latter is so formed as to be moved perpendicularly to the PCB. Therefore, each moving contact slides on the PCB with a surface contact between each moving contact and the PCB and also between each moving contact and each fixed contact, which causes a problem that each moving contact and each fixed contacts are easily abraded and set in fatigue.
Furthermore, such control switches are provided with a switch to select either of the right and left mirrors for adjustment and a switch to adjust the posture of the selected mirror by tilting and pivoting it, namely, a so-called four-way posture control switch. The operating member of the mirror select switch is formed as a knob independent of a push plate being the operating member of the four-way posture control switch. The fact is that the driver operating this control switch should first tilt the mirror select switch knob rightward or leftward to select the right left mirror, and then adjust the posture of the mirror by pressing the push plate. Thus, the driver must pay attention to both the mirror select switch knob and the push plate surrounding it. Especially when such mirror posture adjustment is required during car driving, it is not preferrable for a safe drive.
The PCB on which plural fixed contacts are formed is secured to the bottom of a box-shaped casing, and the push plate is disposed covering the top opening in the casing, so that the cross sectional area of the casing as the switch body substantially depends upon the area of the push plate or that of the PCB. The push plate must be so designed as to have a somewhat large area because its operability is not good if it is designed extremely small. Thus in a dashboard, console or arm reset in which such control switch is fixed, the push plate and the top portion of the casing are exposed on the surface of the dashboard or the like, so that the exposed portion has a large area, the place of installation is limited and a special means of sealing is necessary for preventing dust or any liquid from entering the casing.